The horrid losing streak is finally over thanks to a 3-2 shootout victory over Philadelphia, but Philly still nearly pulled out an impressive victory. And with Boston so used to giving up the first two goals lately, it was refreshing to actually see Boston get on the board first for a change, thanks to Chris Kelly putting in a rebound at the 6:23 mark. Tim Thomas even made a great save when Jaromir Jagr made it through on a 1-on-0 breakaway. Later on, the Bruins padded their lead to 2-0 when Tyler Seguin took a pass point blank from behind the net and put the puck past Ilya Bryzgalov.

However, the Bruins couldn’t seal away the win, despite coming on strong. Philadelphia stepped up their defense for the rest of the game, not allowing Boston many chances. At the same time, they kept the pressure on Boston to makes stops, and clawed their way back into game with a tip-in midway through the 2nd Period and a second tip-in with 4:17 left in regulation.
Both teams did well in overtime, with each failing to provide a real threat on a chance at the period’s end. And with the skill sets of both goalies, you’d think the shootout would have been more interesting, but it was like two empty nets facing down shots. Boston put all three shots past perhaps the best goalie in the league right now, and Thomas finally managed to push one aside on Philadelphia’s third attempt to get Boston a long-awaited win.

JERRY!! JERRY!! Moment of the Game:

Without question, it has to be the 2nd Period fight. Well, it was more like Johnny Boychuk just outright slaughtering Maxime Talbot and throwing him to the ice with no resistance.

Coach’s Corner:

“We did a great job carrying the play today.” – Head Coach Claude Julien on the day’s performance, especially holding off Philadelphia’s comeback attempt.

Scoring Summary:

1st Period

6:23

BOS

CHRIS KELLY (17) WRIST – ASST: B. POULIOT (13) AND B. ROLSTON (8)

17:07

BOS

TYLER SEGUIN (25) WRIST – ASST: P. BERGERON (37) AND B. MARCHAND (23)

2nd Period

9:16

PHI

PPG – MATT READ (20) TIP-IN – ASST: D. BRIERE (25) AND M. CARLE (31)

3rd Period

15:43

PHI

JAKUB VORACEK (14) TIP-IN – ASST: B. COBURN (17) AND M. READ (21)

Overtime

NONE

Shootout

DAVID KREJCI

BOS

GOAL

MATT READ

PHI

GOAL

TYLER SEGUIN

BOS

GOAL

CLAUDE GIROUX

PHI

GOAL

PATRICE BERGERON

BOS

GOAL

DANNY BRIERE

PHI

SAVE

Penalty Summary:

1st Period

1:55

PHI

ZAC RINALDO : FIGHTING (MAJ) – 5 MIN

1:55

BOS

GREGORY CAMPBELL : FIGHTING (MAJ) – 5 MIN

10:37

BOS

JORDAN CARON : HOOKING – 2 MIN

11:58

PHI

JAROMIR JAGR : TRIPPING – 2 MIN

14:24

BOS

ZDENO CHARA : TRIPPING – 2 MIN

2nd Period

1:49

PHI

ZAC RINALDO : HOOKING – 2 MIN

4:08

BOS

JOHNNY BOYCHUK : FIGHTING (MAJ) – 5 MIN

4:08

PHI

MAXIME TALBOT : FIGHTING (MAJ) – 5 MIN

7:17

BOS

TYLER SEGUIN : SLASHING – 2 MIN

3rd Period

11:04

BOS

SHAWN THORNTON : INTERFERENCE ON GOALKEEPER – 2 MIN

Overtime

NONE

Goalie Stats:

Goalie

Save Total

TOI

PHI

30 I. BRYZGALOV (L)

31/33

64:58

BOS

30 T. THOMAS (W)

27/29

65:00

Shots on Goal:

1st

2nd

3rd

OT

Total

PHI

7

8

12

2

29

BOS

11

8

13

1

33

Game Notes:

Boston is now 27-0-0 when leading at the 2nd Intermission.

They’re also 15-0-0 in games where Chris Kelly scores a goal.

Philadelphia is now 4-10-1 in day games this season; Boston is 5-8-2.

A happy 33rd birthday to Andrew Ference.

A happy 35th birthday to Zdeno Chara this Sunday.

For the time being, Boston is back ahead of Ottawa (85-84), which hosts Toronto at 7:00pm.